Body Management

by Scott Kolasinski

While I’m waiting in the line of a supermarket, my eyes will casually glance over the tabloid and fitness magazines available. As I realize how difficult it is to ignore the latest brain-dead accusation and update of Brittany Spears, Angelina Jolie, or Jessica and Romo, my attention fell on the pictures of a fitness model and/or celebrity.

A recent issue of US magazine has “How I Got My Body Back!” of former Bachelorette contestant and new-mom Tricia Rhein (for the record, I am ashamed that I actually know her name). Shape, Cosmopolitan, and Muscle and Fitness [Fiction] have their usual male and female hard bodies delicately manifested on each of their magazines. Many of these magazines try to portray how an ideal body should appear with a ripped set of abs, tight waistline and chiseled chest that screams sex appeal.

As much as I hate to admit it, some of these models and celebrities have been blessed with great genes, and they can achieve a great physique naturally with little attention to what they eat. However, this is certainly not the majority of us.

The fact of the matter is, for the majority of us who want the type of physique portrayed on a number of these magazines, we have to put in a large number of hours and pay meticulous attention to our nutrition.

I once wanted to the body of a model on one of those fitness magazines. On January 15, 2002, having been a personal trainer for approximately 3 months at another facility and having finished my masters degree in exercise science, I decided that it was about time to show I can put what I know (and those things I advise to my clients) into practice. Twenty-seven other men and I started a contest while being monitored by the owner of a supplement store to lose 10% of our bodyweight in eight weeks. My starting weight was 212 at 19% body fat. I had to be at least 190.8 pounds in eight weeks. Long story short, at the end of it all, I learned a ton about what it is like dieting to extremely low levels of body fat percentages, and I finished weighing in at 188.5 pounds and 7% body fat. My point for telling you this is that I have been there and done it; I know the sacrifices, the discipline and daily focus that are necessary to obtain a specific weight loss goal. However, many people do not understand the focus that is required, and as such, when their world gets difficult with an assortment of stress, anxiety and temptation, they resort back to their old ways of living and eating, and they have a “Forget It” attitude.

In this article, I will help you understand the types of tools and focus that are necessary while dieting that will ultimately lead you to a healthy lifestyle. Instead of giving you a list of facts about why you should strive for a low bodyfat percentage, I am positive the media has exhausted your brain with those reasons. Here, I will focus more on how to get started and the psychological side that you must have in order to reach your weight loss goals.


More Exercise or Diet?

Scientists agree that the best way for us to lose body fat while retaining muscle is through a combination of diet and exercise. However, we do not have a consensus on whether or not there should be more attention on one versus the other: Some people believe the needed attention to diet and exercise can be broken down into percentages, such as it requires 40% attention to an exercise regimen and 60% attention to a nutritional plan. Unfortunately, it is not that simple. I cannot give you a definite percentage of how much detail is needed between the two; however, I will tell you that it requires more attention to nutrition than exercise.

Getting Started

Before you venture out on your weight loss goal, you will need at least three things: 1) A food scale to weigh all of your food, 2) a food journal to record what you eat, the grams of carbohydrates (carbs), protein and fat, 3) a food manual to look up food items and their macronutrient content. Nowadays, you can find various free online nutrition programs that make this very easy. An example is www.fitday.com. This already has the USDA’s nutrient database available and it gives you the option of custom-entering the nutrient facts of foods not listed in the USDA’s database.

Ok, those are the tools. So you now need to figure out how many calories to shoot toward daily. Yeah, that’s right, record calories! People hate recording calories because of the amount of time and tedious nature it takes to have to weigh all of their food while aiming for a certain caloric goal. However, the research is clear, while trying to make a behavioral change (in this case, it would be eating less), the most effective way for long-term change is to write down everything you are eating. Weight Watchers requires some sort of math with their point system. The Zone uses blocks. If one of those systems of record keeping works for you, fine, but you will need to record something. Those that do not write down what they eat tend to underestimate their calories and later wonder why they are not losing any scale weight – and they usually put the blame on a “slow metabolism.” You must know your caloric intake – not have an idea about it, KNOW IT!
Lyle McDonald, a self-made human physiologist and author of several nutrition books, puts it well when describing the hunger and anxiety that so many experience while dieting: “The main [issues] that folks have to deal with are hunger and anxiety. To a degree, both the hunger and anxiety are just psychological manifestations. Simply knowing that you can't eat what you want when you want, even if you're eating plenty, tends to make people both hungry and anxious. As a friend would put it, it's simply human nature: we want what we can't have.
And if someone tells you that you can't eat what you want when you want, you're going to want it. Even if it's yourself telling you you can't do it, by making the conscious decision to diet; it still causes psychological anxiety. Take something away from a 5 year old if you need proof. Dieters aren't far from this: big food-obsessed cry-babies who bitch about not being able to eat whatever they want whenever they want. Well, tough; eating whatever you want whenever you want is what made you…” unhappy about your physique “in the first place. Losing fat means changing something and that usually includes food intake. That causes anxiety to one degree or another. So what's the solution? Well, there isn't one except to change your mental outlook. Basically, you can either deal with it, or stay [the same]; those are the only options.”

The above quote has to be your mentality when trying to create a certain physique within yourself. Every day, you may have to remind yourself of why you are doing what you are doing. All of the foods you feel you are depriving yourself have one promise about them: they are not going anywhere. When you finish your transformation, they will still be there. However, if you are making changes that will result into a healthy lifestyle, you will realize that you can still eat these once missed foods. More on this later.

There are a number of psychological triggers that can really make it difficult on an individual trying to achieve their goal. For example, many women in particular must deal with cravings: in general, they crave salty-crunchy snacks (like potato chips and nuts) or chocolate; and then there are those like me that crave both. One of the best ways of dealing with this is refuse to bring them into your house. That works great for single individuals, but not the married-with-children individual. If this is the case you will have to find other options. For the chocolate craver: protein bars and shakes work very well for many. You do not need to live on them, but use them for what they are for: convenience and helping to deal with that craving. For the salty-crunchy craver, many enjoy peanut butter and/or almond butter on low-carb tortilla wraps; or I will still eat some nuts, but I will actually count how many I am eating so that they agree with my needed calories. It might be only nine or ten, but those nuts will still be there tomorrow, and I will enjoy them again.

Social Gatherings

When many people try to lose weight, they are not aware of the types of struggles that they may encounter. If there is one situation that can ruin an entire week’s worth of exercise and dieting in one meal is when they go out to a party or some other gathering. This is one of the reasons why more attention needs to be placed on nutrition than exercise. Healthy eating does not need to stop at a birthday party, business gathering, or just going out to have fun and relax. If you are focused on your goal, you will not make excuses and you will take responsibility for what you need to do to achieve your goal.

If you notice closely in Analisa’s article, she started her first experiment in December. She does not mention that she was in graduate school, head coaching girls high school JV basketball and she was finishing her thesis at the time. To say she was busy, perhaps stressed and vulnerable to distractions may be an understatement. I asked her at least three times during our first meeting, “Are you sure you want to do this now?”

One of the primary keys to Analisa’s success was her organization as she planned her meals days in advanced. Planning your meals with great focus is the best secret to success. Because she recorded everything she ate, she still enjoyed Christmas, New Years, and occasional post-game get-togethers with the team, and through it all, she still achieved her goal.

And then there is the one thing that you cannot control: how others react to your healthy eating. As Johnny briefly mentioned in his article, you will certainly get some crap for eating healthy in the face of others who are not. Why? You are reminding them of what they are doing wrong. They are trying to bring you down to their level. They are eating care free, insisting that this is necessary in order to have fun. But realize it is also very fun achieving a long-held goal of having a low body fat percentage. Sacrifices will need to be made, and it would seem logical that if they were your friends, they would respect your wishes of achieving your goal.

I Just Don’t Feel Like It Today

Get over it. We have all been there. Ever not want to have to go to work? You did it. Ever not want to take out the trash? You did it. Ever not want to have to drive the kids 2 hours to their soccer tournament? You did it.

With regards to your exercise training and eating regimen, have you ever wanted to succeed? Stick to it. The reward is well worth it.

For those wanting to diet down to extreme body fat percentages, you may be a grumpy person. You must be more disciplined with your eating than ever for a long amount of time. While dieting to extreme low levels of body fat (BF) percentages (for women, that would mean under 17% BF; for men, under 9% BF) our hormone levels start affecting our mood severely. I recall being rather grumpy near the end of my contest. There really is not anything we can do about the moodiness other than learn how to deal with it and warn others around us how you might be feeling. During this time of the training and eating, often you awaken hungry, eat, a half-hour later you are hungry, an hour later, starving, 2 hours later famished, you finally eat something small again and the cycle repeats. Not fun, but that’s how it is near the last days of a photo shoot (for those beautiful models you see in magazines) or a bodybuilding contest. It happens and you are mentally and physically pushed to a level unlike any other.

I Have Succeeded, Now What?

Once you have achieved your initial weight loss goal, now the TRUE challenge begins: how long can you keep it off. All of those people who might have been a means of support are now challenging you with words of sarcasm, “Did you keep your weight off?” In a sense, they are right. If you could not keep it off, then what have you proven? For the individual (like a bodybuilder) who may actually need to get some larger muscles, yes, that individual needs to start eating more again and changing his exercise program accordingly.

But for the person who has been dreaming of losing their weight for many months, and finally achieves it, you must maintain healthy eating habits and make exercise a part of your life for the rest of your life.

Certain body fat percentages are almost unrealistic to live by: under 7% for men and under 15% for women. This is very difficult and some physiologists would say it is too low of a percentage.
However, the worst possible alternative you could do is go back to your old lifestyle before the weight loss. This will only lead you back to that old body. After losing a significant amount of weight, our bodies are primed to gain fat, not muscle. The fat cells did not leave you, they are still there, and they are only empty. Empty fat cells are a large proportion of the “loose skin” displayed on those who have lost a significant amount of body fat.

This is why diets never work, only lifestyle changes do.

Summary

This month’s article can be broken down simply:
1) Write down what you eat.
2) Plan your meals in advanced.
3) Hunger and anxiety will happen, deal with it.
4) You will get crap from others, even your spouse or closest friends.
5) Only lifestyle changes last for the long term.

This is the mentality and discipline you must have for a long amount of time. The food you feel you are missing is not going anywhere; you are not going to go without it for the rest of your life. A short, focused 12-16 weeks can eliminate what years of overeating have created to your body. If you maintain your focus, you will achieve more about yourself than you ever knew was possible.

For any questions or comments about this article, please email me at scott@focusedtrainers.com. Until next time…